Flour at the market is hard to come by these days, but even if it is at the market, this recipe comes together so quickly and with such little effort it’s hard to imagine not wanting to throw this together every day during the week (since we’re home anyway, right?). I’ve received many emails and comments from readers asking for a straightforward recipe using 100% all-purpose flour since that’s what many of us have in the pantry right now. But even when abundant flour choices return to the market, this same-day sourdough bread with all-purpose flour might become a weekly staple in your kitchen.
This recipe makes a single 900g loaf of bread all in a single day. It begins with your mature starter in the morning and ends in the late afternoon with a fresh loaf of bread ready for dinner. What could be better? And while it’s similar to my recent simple weekday sourdough, it’s just a bit different, using different flour and a modified timeline. They’re different, but both practical ways to sneak baking in more often than not.
What Makes This Sourdough Bread Recipe Easy?
- It uses only one type of flour: all-purpose white flour
- It’s a same-day bread, meaning the day you mix is the day you bake
- There is no need for a levain, use your sourdough starter in the mix
- It makes a single loaf of bread, no scaling or dividing dough
- You can add up to 15% mix-ins: walnuts, pecans, seeds, or dried fruit
- You can substitute flour: use 5% (23g) whole grain rye, or 10% (46g) whole wheat flour (remove that amount of AP flour) without modifying the rest of the formula
Flour Selection
One essential modification in this recipe versus my simple weekday sourdough (which uses all high-protein bread flour) is slightly reducing the hydration, especially if there are no whole grains in the recipe. Because all-purpose tends to mix up to a softer, slack dough, lowering the hydration brings strength and makes for a loaf with more rise and a crunchier crust.
Additionally, I reduced the autolyse time for this recipe. If you’d like to give this dough a little more strength and reduce mixing time (which is already minimal!), you could autolyse the dough for 30 minutes: Mix the flour and water in the mixing bowl and let sit, covered, until your sourdough starter is ripe and ready to use.
Flour note: If your “all-purpose” flour is lower in protein than the flour I used, King Arthur Flour Unbleached All-Purpose at 11.7% protein, you might want to keep an eye on the hydration as you’re adding water in the mix and add less if the dough feels overly wet. Also, strengthen the dough up front, either through folds in the fold or a more intensive strengthening technique.
Baking Schedule
The intention for this recipe is for it to be a same-day dough, meaning you mix in the morning, and you bake in the late afternoon. However, you can also place the shaped and covered dough into the refrigerator to finish the proof overnight (instead of on the counter). This way, you can have fresh bread for dinner on day one or fresh bread for lunch on day two.
Sourdough Bread with All-purpose Flour
For tips on how to calculate baker’s percentages or how to modify this formula, see my post on baker’s percentages (baker’s math).
| Total Dough Weight | 900 grams |
| Pre-fermented Flour | 10.0% |
| Hydration | 76.0% (this takes the water in the sourdough starter, which is about 50%, into account) |
| Yield | One 900g loaf |
Total Formula
My final dough temperature for this dough was 78°F (26°C). See my post on the importance of dough temperature for more information.
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 460g | All-purpose white flour, ~ 11.7% protein (King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour) | 100.0% |
| 340g | Water | 74.0% |
| 9g | Salt (sea salt) | 1.9% |
| 92g | Ripe sourdough starter (100% hydration) | 20.0% |
Sourdough Bread with All-purpose Flour Method
1. Mix – 9:00 a.m.
When your sourdough starter is mature (see the image, above), add the ingredients below to a large mixing bowl:
| Weight | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 460g | All-purpose white flour (King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour) |
| 340g | Water |
| 9g | Salt (sea salt) |
| 92g | Sourdough starter (100% hydration) |
Using wet hands, mix everything — except 50g of the water (add 290g and hold back 50g) — until it comes together into a shaggy mass. I like to hold back a little of this water when mixing to pause and assess the dough: does it feel super wet and “soupy?” If so, omit the reserved 50g. If it still feels manageable, add it in slowly as your strengthening the dough in the bowl with folds.
This dough doesn’t require intensive kneading (like slap and fold) but do give it a series of folds (pickup one side and fold it over, rotate the bowl and repeat) in the bowl for 2-5 minutes until it smooths slightly and comes together in a cohesive ball.
I like to fold this dough more than my simple weekday sourdough, even though they both don’t require kneading on the counter, because this recipe is comprised of 100% all-purpose flour. I find this dough benefits from a little extra strength before bulk fermentation by performing these folds.
Cover the bowl with reusable plastic and keep somewhere warm in your kitchen for bulk fermentation.
2. Bulk Fermentation – 9:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. (3.5 hours)
At 75°F (24°C), bulk fermentation should take 3.5 hours. During this time, we will strengthen the dough through a series of stretch and folds directly in the bowl.
For each set wet your hands, grab one side and stretch it up and over the dough to the other side. Rotate the bowl 180° and perform another stretch and fold (this forms a long rectangle in the bowl). Then, rotate the bowl 90° and do another stretch and fold. Finally, rotate the bowl 180° and do one last stretch and fold.
Give the dough 4-5 sets of stretch and folds as indicated below:
| Set | Time |
|---|---|
| Fold set 1 | 9:30 a.m. (15 minutes after the start of bulk fermentation) |
| Fold set 2 | 9:45 a.m. (15 minutes after fold set 1) |
| Fold set 3 | 10:15 a.m. |
| Fold set 4 | 10:45 a.m. |
| Fold set 5 (as needed) | 11:15 a.m. (if the dough still looks slack, weak, and not showing any signs of defined edges, give it this fifth set) |
After the last set of stretch and folds, let the dough rest, covered, until the next step.
3. Preshape – 12:45 p.m.
After 3.5 hours, the dough should have risen in your bulk fermentation container, smoothed out, and show bubbles on the sides and surface. You want the dough to feel more elastic and strong. It should also feel alive and aerated. I also like to look at the edge of the dough in the bulk container: it should be domed, not flat, indicating the dough needs more time to rise. A flat surface with bubbles on the dough can also indicate it was over-hydrated and too slack/weak.
Fill a bowl with some water and place it on your work surface — I use water to keep the dough from sticking on my hands and my bench knife. Scrape out your dough from the bulk container onto your dry counter. Wet your hand and top of the bench knife and gently preshape the dough into a loose round.
Let the dough rest, uncovered, for 20 minutes until its relaxed outward.
4. Shape – 1:05 p.m.
I went an extra step with this dough and coated it with a mixture of black and white sesame seeds for flavor. You can omit toppings altogether or use sesame as I did, rolled oats, flaked barley, pumpkin seeds, or anything you think would taste wonderfully toasted in the oven. Lay a towel next to your work surface and spread the topping out thinly. After you shape the dough, roll the smooth side on the towel to pick up these toppings (as shown in the video below).
Flour the work surface, your hands, and the top of the rested dough. Using your bench knife flip the round over onto the floured work surface. Next, take the left edge and fold it over midway to the right. Take the right side and fold it over the left. Take the top edge and fold it down to the middle. Pick up the bottom edge (closest to you) and fold it up over to the top of the dough but keep going until it touches the work surface, flipping everything over so the seams are now on the bottom.
Next, using both hands drag the dough down toward your body using your pinky fingers to pinch the dough between your fingers and the work surface. Rotate the dough and continue dragging to create tension on the top and outside of the dough. It’s not necessary to excessively tighten this dough (unless it feels fragile and slack to you), and as you can see in the video below, my dough was strong and did not require a firm hand to fully shape.
Read through to my guide to shaping a boule for more in-depth instruction on shaping boules.
5. Proof – 1:15 p.m. 3:45 p.m. (or when dough is ready)
Cover the proofing basket entirely and let it sit out on the counter for 2 to 4 hours, temperature depending. My dough was ready after 2.5 hours at about 75°F (23°C).
Overnight option: At this point, you can also place the covered proofing basket directly into your refrigerator and continue the process the next morning, afternoon, or even the next evening.
Use the “poke test” (as seen below) to determine when the dough is ready. While this test is not appropriate for all doughs, it’s a good test for this one because it’s made from all-white flour, has moderate hydration, and was proofed at room temperature. Notice how my pokes slowly spring back and don’t always fill in the indentation. Additional signs it’s ready are that it is well-risen in the proofing basket and quite gassy.
6. Bake – 3:45 p.m. (pre-heat oven at 3:00 p.m.)
Preheat your oven with the rack at the bottom third to 450°F (232°C). Place your combo cooker or Dutch oven inside, open, with the lid and bottom side-by-side. Review my guide to baking in a Dutch oven for in-depth details.
Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit over the proofing basket and place a pizza peel (or large cutting board) on top. Using both hands, flip the entire stack over and remove the basket.
Score the dough and load it into the Dutch oven; then, bake for 20 minutes covered. After this time, remove the lid and finish baking for 30-35 minutes or until done. The internal temp should be around 205-210°F (96-99°C).
Remove the loaf to a cooling rack for 1-2 hours before slicing. Follow my guide to storing sourdough bread to keep it fresh for the next week (or freeze for longer!).
Conclusion
What a wonderfully simple loaf of sourdough bread. I rarely bake a single loaf (unless it’s a miche), but this was so simple and so easy to put together I wonder what keeps me from making a loaf like this every day. Baking sourdough bread doesn’t have to be overly complicated; it can be as easy as mixing flour, water, salt, and your sourdough starter and giving it some guidance and time to mature into a delicious loaf of bread.
Crust
The crust was a rugged one, something I don’t mind one bit. The variegated colors from the sesame add some visual interest—not to mention tons of umami—but the color on the crust would be enough to satisfy my visual appetite. And the crust itself has all the appreciable crunch I look for in one of my sourdough loaves. And perhaps most importantly, the crust tastes incredible dipped in some olive oil—this has me yearning for the middle of summer when tomatoes will be ready in the garden.
Crumb
The crumb was tender, light, and wonderfully chewy. A good honest loaf of bread this is, and while not dramatically open, it’s evenly fermented and just what you’d expect—and want—from a straightforward bread recipe with minimal fuss.
Taste
Same day sourdough loaves tend to exhibit a milder flavor with reduced sourness and complexity — but this doesn’t mean it is flavorless. It’s a delicately flavored loaf with wheat flavor standing tall at the front. It still has some tinge of sourness to it, one that arrives at the very end of a bite and serves to remind you of the natural fermentation process, how healthy this bread is, and how delicious it can be when we give the dough the time to ferment properly.
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Sourdough Bread with All-Purpose Flour
- Prep Time: 12 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 13 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Cuisine: American
Description
My recipe for an easy loaf of healthy and nutritious sourdough bread made with all-purpose flour—all made in one day. No complicated levain steps with this recipe; just get mixing with your ripe sourdough starter!
Ingredients
Main Dough
- 460g all-purpose flour
- 340g water
- 9g salt
- 92g ripe sourdough starter
Instructions
- Mix (9:00 a.m.)
Add the Main Dough ingredients, reserving 50g of water, to a mixing bowl and mix with wet hands. Mix and strengthen the dough for 2-5 minutes, pinching the ingredients together and folding the dough over itself repeatedly until it’s cohesive and smooths. During this time, slowly add in the 50g of the reserved water if the dough feels like it can handle it: it shouldn’t be soupy or extremely wet, if it is, don’t add the remainder of the reserved water. - Bulk Fermentation (9:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.)
This dough will need 4 to 5 sets of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation, the first set 15 minutes after bulk fermentation begins, the second set 15 minutes after that. Then, perform the rest of them at 30-minute intervals as needed. After the last set, let the dough rest the remainder of bulk fermentation. - Preshape (12:45 p.m.)
Lightly flour your work surface and scrape out your dough. Using your bench knife, lightly shape the dough into a round shape. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes, uncovered. - Shape (1:05 p.m.)
Shape the dough into a round (boule) or oval (batard), then place the dough in proofing baskets. - Proof (1:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.)
Cover the proofing basket entirely and let it sit out on the counter for 2 – 4 hours, temperature depending. My dough was ready after 2.5 hours at about 75°F (23°C). - Bake (3:45 p.m., preheat oven at 3:00 p.m.)
Preheat your oven with a baking surface or combo cooker/Dutch oven inside to 450°F (230°C).When the oven is preheated, remove your dough from the fridge, score it, and transfer it to the preheated baking surface or combo cooker. Bake for 20 minutes with steam. After this time, vent the steam in the oven or remove the lid (you can keep it in the oven or remove it) and continue to bake for 30 minutes longer. When done, the internal temperature should be around 204°F (95°C).
Let the loaves cool for 2 hours on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes
- The dough can be placed into the refrigerator at the Proof step in its proofing basket and sealed bag to proof overnight. The next day, take it out and bake it straight away in a preheated oven as indicated in the Bake step.
If you use this recipe, tag @maurizio on Instagram so I can take a look!
What’s Next?
This sourdough bread with all-purpose flour is straightforward, but no less delicious, than those with complicated flour blends. If you want an even more hands-off approach to baking sourdough bread, check out my no-knead sourdough bread recipe.
On the other hand, it can be fun to experiment and discover what other flavor profiles we can draw out with a whole wheat sourdough sandwich loaf, or a fifty-fifty sourdough with 50% whole wheat—that is, once we readily have these flour choices at the market!
437 Comments
This didn’t work for me, after bulk fermentation the dough was about the consistency of slime and behaved as such, running all over the workspace. I followed the recipe and directions to a tee and it just didn’t work. I live in a fairly high humidity area so that may be the issue. I used King Arthur organic all purpose flour. I am now in the post shape proofing stage, I placed the slime in the Kitchen Aid, added about another 100g of flour very slowly and using the dough hook worked the slime for about 10 minutes at slow speed. This made the dough workable but still fairly runny, I added another 30g of flour to the workspace and the dough and was able to get it to hold together well enough to shape into a round. Hopefully this will produce a nice loaf, but it definitely won’t be done in a day since I’ve been working with the dough now for about 7 hours and it still needs to go through the second rise. Baking tomorrow.
Sorry to hear that, Jolly! Yes, sounds like an over hydration issue there given your location and humidity. Next time drop the water in the mix, I’d say withhold the 50g I talk about in the recipe but also reduce by another 50g before that and see if this helps.
In the morning, if your dough looks like soup in the container, you can dump it out and shape it again and bake like that OR you could shape and place it in a bread pan to bake as a sandwich loaf — that’s always my last saving grace!
After a night in the refrigerator I was pretty stoked that it was going to work, but alas not so much. After moving it from the proofing container it flattened out again and resembled a huge bially. I have reshaped, used a bit more flour and am going to give it another hour before sticking it in the oven come what may.
Hi Maurizio, your blog has been a life-changing godsend! trying this new recipe and I’ve noticed that after the bulk fermentation my. Was extremely soft, blobby, and sticky. It was still dome-shaped in the bowl and had bubbles at the edges and on the surface but as I’m letting it relax before shaping it I’m noticing that it it’s going to be difficult to work with. What did I do wrong?
Might have been too much water in the mix! Next time, omit that 50g I mention holding back until mixing.
Will do! Appreciate the personal response. 🙂 keep up the great work
PS: interesting Lee after I let it relax and came back to it it was much easier to shape especially with a little dusting of flour. I proved it in the oven with the light on but when I brought it out it was just so incredibly soft and blah be still. Threw it in the Dutch oven anyway and it came out absolutely delicious but did not rise very much during the bank. Still good though. The crowman crossed are nearly perfect just it’s rather flat in shape
trying this for the first time today. I’ve only baked 4 loaves total over working to maintain a starter regiment for almost a month. oye. getting it to a mature state at a time I can use it was troublesome, but I’m getting there. my second batch of loaves, and, particularly, my last one I baked came out great. finally! they’re a little dense still, but getting a better crumb, finally. I love the simplicity and timing of this recipe. trying it today!
Stick with it, Matt! It can be a little frustrating to get into a good rhythm at first, but you’ll get there.
I see a few questions in the comments about wet dough, and the answer has been to “leave out the reserve 50g of water.” But I don’t see anything in the recipe instructions mentioning this 50g of reserve water. Could you please explain this to me?
Sorry about that, Nelson. This wording is now in the Mix step!
Hi Maurizio, I like how simple and flexible this recipe is, I baked my loaf today. the ear, crust and color everything looks very nice except the burnt bottom. I always preheat the oven at 500 for about an hour along with the Dutch oven. I baked at 500 for 20 mins with lid on and another 10 lid off and another 10 minutes at 450 ( kinda like your 50% whole wheat temp setting), but the bottom is very dark. I wonder if I need to adjust the position of the rack or maybe even temperature? Would like to hear your advice on this matter. Thanks. ( has a fan of your work quite a while:) )
Hey, Fey. I’d say drop the preheat temp to 450F and this will help quite a bit. Also, check out my post on baking in a Dutch oven, I have a bunch of tips in there on how to reduce that burning!
Thank you so much for your reply. I will certainly try a different temp next time and maybe even use some corn meals like it suggested in the article.
I find the dough to be quite “wet”. I had a difficult time removing the loaf from the proofing basket even though I used a bit extra flour + seeds. I managed to get the loaf baked in my Lodge dutch oven. I should note that I did the room temperature, same day bake. The crust was nice and crunchy, the crumb was the best I’ve had in the 5 or so years I’ve been baking. I think I’ll knock the hydration down a bit and see what happens. Thanks for the recipe!!
Glad to hear things still turned out great, Steven! Yes, sounds like a reduced hydration will certainly help next time. Take notes on the adjustment and keep refining that water percentage added to the dough, this will help you dial it in over time with the flour you’re using! Happy baking 🙂
Glad to hear all that, Silke! Finding that perfect proof point is always a work-in-progress and we do our best to get as close as possible. Just be observant of the dough and how it feels and looks! Happy baking 🙂
When you say: You can substitute flour: use 5% (23g) whole grain rye, or 10% (46g) whole wheat flour without modifying the rest of the formula.
Does that mean I take away 69g of all purpose flour? Or add to the mix?
You’d take that amount of AP flour away, and substitute it with the amount in parenthesis (I’ll make this more clear in the post!).
HI!! I just put my loaf in my dutch oven to bake but when i flipped it out on the the parchment paper/cutting board, it started to flatted and droop down over the edge. I was able to get it into the dutch oven but it looks like a mess. What could I have done wrong in proofing that it deflated as it did? Thanks!!
Sounds like the loaf was likely not shaped tightly enough during shaping! Be sure you give it a nice, smooth skin on the dough so it holds shape all the way to bake time.
HOW DO I FIND OUT THE PERCENTAGE OF PROTEIN IN A FLOUR, SINCE IT’S NOT ON THE BAG?
Look up makers site or find articles. This one is helpful: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/596-a-guide-to-all-purpose-flour-shopping-tips-the-best-brands-and-more
You’d have to contact the miller or look online, they should have it listed somewhere!
Is there the standard nutrition info box on the bag? If so, you ought to be able to figure out the percentage using that and a bit of math.
Hi Maurizio, simple question. Saran Wrap and me are not friends. When you say to cover the dough, can I use a towel instead? Thanks
Anything that will help prevent the dough from drying out. Here a towel wouldn’t suffice — I really like these reusable plastic bowl covers.
Can I substitute 50 gr. of the total white four with 50 gr. whole wheat flour? I like that touch. Thanks.
That’ll work well! If the dough feels extremely dry when mixing, adjust with more water as necessary.
Hi Maurizio, Thanks for this recipe. Made it last night and doubled for two loaves. Used Whole Foods AP (no listing of % protein) and the dough was very slack, but got the smooth dough and bubbles at end of proof. Super sticky though. In fact it stuck to my proofing basket cloths so much it was a bit of a disaster. Still, the bread tasted great. On one loaf I seeded the basket with Trader Joes “Everything Sesame Seasoning” So good! Will definitely do that again. Anyway just curious if you had any ideas on the slackness and sticking to the cloth?
I had a very similar experience. It was “soupy” – I tend to find this happens with AP flour loaves only even with 5+ turns/folds to build strength. Any ideas? Or is it just the nature of AP flour to be so slack?
I think if the flour is under 11%, like Gold Medal, Pillsbury, etc, you get the soupy mess. What he used (Central Milling Artisan Baker’s Craft) is high-protein AP, same with KAF. Next time I will hold for on some of the water, I have the lower protein CM Beehive.
Yes, hold back some of the water to help bring more strength to the dough!
Daisy: Sounds like a bit too much water for your flour. Omit that reserved 50g of water (or more) as necessary to adjust for your flour!
Will do and report back. Thank you!
Sounds like a bit too much water for your flour. Omit that reserved 50g of water (or more) as necessary to adjust for your flour!
I’m so excited about this recipe! I’m going to try it in a couple of days. One simple question…how long after I feed my starter should I use it in the recipe? If I feed it the night before, and then add it at 9am the next morning, will that be ok? Or should I feed it early in the morning, maybe 6am, and let it rise for 3 hours, and then use it in the recipe at 9am? I want to make sure it is at its peak. Thanks.
Susan — you want to use your starter when it’s mature (ripe, risen to its peak) when you use it to mix into this dough. This means if you feed normally at night and in the morning, use your starter before you feed it in the morning.
The recipe is a game changer! Made it yesterday, and it is simple, quick and divine! Came out more like a crusty french bread than a hearty sourdough, but something different is good. Had a beautiful rise and crumb, though I should have cut into it sooner when it was slightly warm because later in the day it got a bit chewy. Next time I have a slice, I’ll reheat it slightly to bring back the crispy crust. Thanks for this fabulous recipe. I’ll post a pic on Instagram. –slr
Thank you for posting this timely recipe! I was wondering if it’s possible to create a DIY bread flour by adding vital wheat gluten to all purpose flour, and what quantity you would recommend?
You can certainly augment your weaker flour to be stronger with VWG. Unfortunately, I have never used it so I can’t say!
Hi Maurizio, thank you for this great recipe. I am a beginner and I am having trouble with the recipes here. I have tried beginners recipe with AP (11% protein) and WW, since I don’t have RF I changed it with WW. But the dough was so slack that it was almost soupy and could not come together no matter what I did (tried slap and fold, felt like slapping a soup) so I backed a flat bread:). This time I tried this recipe, by changing 10% with WW and using a 11% protein AP for the rest. The dough was again slack, not like before but I added an additional 40 gr of WW. I gave it a 10 minutes kneading in the kneading machine when I first mixed the ingredients so that it’d come together, and it did. I performed stretch and folds like you explained, and let it rest for bulk. After 4 hours at 23 degrees, the surface was still really flat so I waited more. Unfortunately I fell asleep and a total of 11-12 hours passed during bulk fermentation in 23 degrees, and the dough was so airy and rose so well, I thought it was a disaster (I still do) since I had not shaped it yet. Next I shaped the dough as you described, still slack and sticking to my hand and all that air is gone while I shaped. I have put the shaped dough into the proofing basket and covered it. Now what should I do, do you think it will rise again like it had during the bulk? Is my bread ruined since I waited too much during bulk? And, what is it that I am having so much trouble with the hydration levels, I really want to bake all of your recipes including your best one, some day, but I am giving away to despair.. By the way, I wished you had videos of the steps here so that I could compare the process with what I had 🙂
Also, it would really help if you wrote an article about the processes of the bread, describing in detail what each step means and does to the dough, from autolyze to mixing sourdough, proofing to baking. I wonder why each step is done when it is done, what happens chemically.. why do we put the dough into fridge. It would also help telling about unfortunate scenarios of each stage, like what happens chemically and physically when you overproof, or when you wait too much during bulk 🙂 I find very useful pieces of information in each article but I feel like I need to read all of them to have a full understanding.
Thank you if you even read this 🙂 Have a great week.
It sounds like your dough is most likely over hydrated. Try reducing the hydration by 15% and give it another go — the reduced water should bring a lot of strength to the dough and you’ll feel it immediately. Once you find a suitable hydration, you can try to push it back up, but as you do, take note of how the consistency of the dough changes: the dough will start to slacken out as you add more and more water, this means you’ll likely have to mix more upfront or add another set or two of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation.
Try to keep everything else as consistent as possible and let me know how the next attempt goes!
Yes, you’re right, I have a lot of that information scattered through the site as little “lessons” I’ve learned and shared along the way. Once concise place would be a great addition here — I’ll work on that!
Thanks so much for this recipe! Just made it today and I cannot figure out what I did wrong. Followed the recipe to a T (I think?)… it browned nicely, the crumb looks pretty decent, but it didn’t rise. It was awfully wet and sticky as a dough and didn’t really want to develop any surface tension. I measured temperatures and everything exactly so I’m stumped. I did notice that my starter (which was very bubbly/gassy/sticky) was much more liquidy than normal (I was using a 1:1:1 ratio of starter, flour, and water). Any suggestions on how to fix the rising issue?
He said not to put all the water, maybe that was your error (too sticky).
Emily — sounds like a little too much water in the mix. Omit that reserved 50g next time you give this a try!
Thank you SO much for this recipe!! What a great bread that can be baked entirely in one day. Tried it this morning and it came out super successful. So happy with the result. It’s a great alternative to the labor intensive Tartine method.
Glad to hear this, Helen! Thanks so much for the feedback and enjoy 🙂
I ended up mixing by hand but used CM Beehive and it’s just too slack, even after some more S&Fs. Thinking of turning it into focaccia at this point. Seeing the previous comment, though, maybe I should persevere. Thoughts?
Beehive is a little lower in protein but it might turn out just fine. I’d say next time omit the reserved 50g and it should be much stronger!
This is a great recipe.
Although I could not get it to form a ball, no matter what I tried. it just spread out.
I put it in my stone loaf pan and it cooked up beautifully.
I will make this one again!
Glad to hear that, Angel! Reduce the hydration a tad next time, this should help.
Hey Maurizio! So so grateful for this in-depth all purpose flour recipe! Going to start on it today! (Mine will have to be an overnight rest so technically a 2 day) Fed my starter a few hours ago – should be active and ready in an hour or so.
Also just wanted to point out the in the sourdough method section, the steps go from step 4 to step 6. It doesn’t read like there’s a step missing – think it might be a typo.
Thanks for pointing that out, Tina! I’ll fix it now. Have fun with the bake 🙂
“add up to 15% mix-ins” does the mean I can add up to 135 grams of nuts and dried fruit, or only 69 grams of nuts and fruits… do I have to reduce the other ingredients or do I just mix it in with flour before I add the water, salt and starter
You would still have to modify the rest of the recipe if you wanted to keep it to a 900g total yield (meaning, the end loaf still weigh 900g). If you don’t care about this, and your pan will fit a larger loaf, you can add that in!
my Dutch oven has plenty of room; at which point in building your dough do you add dried cranberries and walnuts, in the dry flour (69 grams = 15% of the flour) or do you mix it into the dough during the second set of folds. At that point you start with 69 grams of mix-in and see if its enough. As another choice of mix ins, can you mix in roasted garlic and some crushed rosemary, is ot better to use uncooked garlic since it will roast with the bread baking… your thoughts please
Thank you for sharing your love and knowledge of baking with us!It’s been a great resource and I am excited to try this recipe. Is there any way to make this bread taste more sour? Would keeping the dough in the fridge overnight like you suggested help with this?
You’re very welcome, Stefanie! Yes, I find an overnight proof in the fridge does bring sourness more forward. You could also mix in a little whole grain rye flour (like I mention at the top of this post) which will help — and if you don’t have rye, even whole wheat flour will help as well. Additionally, use your starter when it’s a little more mature, perhaps a little after it’s fallen in its jar.
Hope that helps and happy baking!
Question! If I proof overnight in fridge and before I bake the next day – should I bring to room temp first? Or do I bake straight from fridge proof?
Tina — you can bake straight from the fridge!
Hi again. I just started this recipe and so far so good. I find I need to modify quite a bit. I live in the tropics in Central America and I find that most of your recipes here need much less water. I think it’s because of the kind of flour here and the high humidity. I’ve used your recipes in South Dakota where my daughter lives and the proportions work great there. I’ll keep you posted.
Yes, sounds like a drop in hydration will be needed — adjust as necessary.
Well it turned out wonderful. I tweaked it a bit. I had to add extra flour because of very high humidity here. I hate to say it but it was like mixing plaster of paris. I had to get the right hydration mix but an exact percentage would just not work under these tropical conditions. I loved putting it in the fridge overnight after a second fermentation once it was shaped into a batard. It took me a very short time compared to other recipes and family loved it toasted with butter. Thank you for your dedication and excellent photos and videos.